A Chinese man in the city of Dongguan went to the doctor complaining of an earache and was horrified to learn the source of his pain: A family of 26 cockroaches had taken up residence in his ear!

Not only was there a larger mother cockroach inside, but doctors soon discovered that she gave birth to 25 baby roaches while inside, according to the Mirror.

The unidentified man, 19-year-old Mr. Li, had allegedly woke up in the middle of the night after his right ear began itching and hurting, reported the Belfast Telegraph. Upon arriving at the hospital and getting his ear examined, doctors found that it was crawling with insects.

Yang Jing, a doctor at Chang'an Xiobian Hospital recalled the incident, saying he peered inside the ear and "saw an insect-shaped object blocking his ear canal completely."

Doctors believed the roach had crawled inside Li's ear and laid the eggs several weeks earlier.

According to reports, doctors say Li was fortunate to have sought medical attention when he did; eventually his ear "would have been destroyed", according to the Daily Mail

Roaches are nocturnal creatures who prefer dark, warm environments such as the insides of an ear canal. They are so resilient that they are generally considered the only creature that could survive – and thrive – after a nuclear war.